This year’s Han Kuang military exercises have been cut short as troops were mobilized to assist in disaster relief operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
Multiple drills scheduled from noon yesterday to today — when the five-day exercises were originally scheduled to conclude — were canceled, with additional tabletop war games to be conducted instead, the ministry said.
Troops previously assigned to participate in the drills were reassigned to assist local governments in disaster relief to ensure that people and their property remain safe, it said, adding that the military had 28,856 personnel, and 3,600 vehicles of 37 different types on standby for possible rescue missions.
Photo: Chen Kuan-bei, Taipei Times
The safety of military personnel is a top priority when carrying out rescue missions, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said.
All military units should record their rescue actions and provide the footage to commanding officers at an appropriate time, which allows the public to know that the military stands with the people at all times and will help them defend the safety of their homes, Koo said.
The annual Han Kuang exercises, which have been Taiwan’s top war games since 1984, consist of live-fire drills and computerized war games. They test Taiwan’s combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS